Bucks judge at center of Kayden Mancuso case wants records released

Friday

Judge Jeffrey Trauger is facing criticism for granting custody to Kayden Mancuso's father, who killed her and himself during a court-ordered visit earlier this month.

The Bucks County judge facing unrelenting criticism for his handling of the custody battle involving a 7-year-old Lower Makefield girl murdered earlier this month during a court-ordered visit with her father hopes the public will soon get a chance to access court records that are normally kept confidential.

“Normally, these proceedings are not released as they include very personal, confidential and sensitive information about the parents and children,” Judge Jeffrey Trauger wrote in an Aug. 22 letter to the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board and Gov. Tom Wolf. “However, this case now demands a departure from that past practice as it now comes before your review.”

The four paragraph letter — obtained by this news organization — offers Trauger's first comments since the Aug. 6 death of Kayden Mancuso, who was found dead at the Philadelphia home of her father, Jeffrey Mancuso, who also killed himself, a crime that has focused international attention on child custody decisions.

Trauger wrote that he hoped the media and public will soon be given access to the “complete case record including, but not limited to, transcripts of all witness testimony, trial exhibits, custody reports, psychological reports, and all other evidence presented to me.”

He added that he hoped the tragedy could serve as a “teachable moment for all parents, the media and the public.”

“Unfortunately, judges sitting in family court proceedings too often see toxic and bitter parental communications and conflict,” Trauger wrote. “Many custody cases become more about a struggle for power and control between the parents than a search for the best interests of the children.”

The letter was written days after the Wolf administration referred complaints about Trauger to the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board for review at the request of Kayden’s family, who are demanding that Trauger be removed from the bench. They contend the judge mishandled Kayden's custody case and it directly contributed to her murder.

In Pennsylvania, judges can be removed only through sanction by the Judicial Conduct Board or after impeachment and conviction in the General Assembly. Trauger was appointed to the Bucks County bench two years ago and re-elected to a 10-year term last year.

In a May custody order, Trauger granted Kayden’s mother, Kathryn Sherlock, primary custody and reduced visitation for Jeffrey Mancuso from four-day weekends to overnight visits every other weekend, according to the custody order.

The family contends Trauger should have ordered supervised visits with Mancuso, though it was not recommended by any doctor or court evaluator consulted in the case, according to the administrative office of Pennsylvania courts. Mancuso had a well-known history of violent outbursts and erratic behavior including arrests for assault; a court-order psychiatric evaluation for the custody case diagnosed him with major depressive disorder and suicidal thoughts.

In his court order, Trauger noted he had serious concerns about Mancuso’s violent history, poor judgement, and inability to accept responsibility for his actions, and urged him to get mental health treatment. Mancuso was never violent with Kayden, and the girl did not appear to be afraid of him, though she told a court evaluator she didn’t want to spend “as many days” with him and had witnessed his violent behavior, according to the court order.

After this news organization provided a copy of the Trauger letter, Jennifer Sherlock, Kayden’s aunt, issued a statement on behalf of the family.

“It is laughable that Judge Trauger is now seeking to utilize this horrific tragedy as a ‘teachable’ moment for parents, the media and public,” Sherlock said. “The family prays that Judge Trauger is immediately removed from presiding over any and all family court actions currently pending in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas as Judge Trauger is clearly unfit to do so.”

Rather than admit his own “culpability in this tragedy,” Sherlock said Trauger shifted the blame and asked the public to “educate themselves” on Pennsylvania law regarding child custody.

“A job that he himself clearly failed to do resulting in the murder of their daughter, Kayden.”

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